A variety of mechanisms are currently used to act as door stops to stop motion of a door at a desired location, with a variety of problems. Some door stops mount to an adjacent wall and are designed to impact a portion of the door or door handle to stop motion of the door. Such door stops have several problems. They are limited in that they are generally only able to stop the door at a single location. Additionally, they are an additional component to the door system, increasing costs and possible failures. When the door is not engaged to such door stops, they protrude from the wall where they can be in the way (such as for vacuuming or other cleaning) and are visually unappealing. Finally, it is possible for such systems to result in holes and/or dents in the door and/or wall.
Alternatively, similar door stops are attached to the doors and stop the doors by a portion of the door stop striking a wall structure, commonly the base board or other structure on the wall. Such systems have many of the same problems as the wall-mounted stops. If the location of striking the wall is insufficiently reinforced or the door stop is poorly placed, the result may be a hole or holes in the wall. These systems also mar the appearance of the door and provide only minimal or no adjustability of the location of stopping the door. As a separate component, they also add costs to a door system.
Other door stops are floor-mounted. While such stops provide much better adjustability of the location of stopping the door, these stops also have significant problems. Such door stops are commonly located well out from the wall and are therefore a significant trip hazard. Additionally, the stops may require some integration with existing flooring, and once placed are not easy to change the location of stopping the door, as it may be necessary to repair the floor at the original location. These door stops also add costs to a door system.
Still other stops are hinge mounted. One commonly-used hinge-mounted door stop is of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,717, and utilizes a pair of arms mounted on top of the hinge pin to impact the door and the casing around the door. While such systems are more-easily adjustable than other systems, they still have significant problems. Such systems are visually unappealing, and commonly result in holes in many doors, such as hollow-core doors. Other door stop systems have similar problems to those discussed above.